Filter



April 6, 1943. E. c. WEISGERBER FILTER Filed May 3l, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet1 April 6 '1943- l E. c. WEISGERBER 2,315,681

FILTER Filed May 3l, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENT OR.

ATTORNEY.

Patented Apr. 6, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT `GFFICE FILTER Edwin C.vWeisgerber, Los Angeles, Calif. Application May 31, 1940, Serial No.338,121

8 Claims.

This invention relates generally to filters.

Many types of filters have been devised for cleaning various fluids,including liquids, gases, air and vapors, the filters employingdifferent filtering material depending upon the particular fluid to befiltered. So far as I am aware most filters soon become fouled andclogged with the dirt and impurities 4which are removed from the fluidpassing through the filter with the result that the particular filterfails to efficiently perform its function and in addition so hinders thepassage of the fluid that a high back pressure results in the inletconduit.

It is also true that with the majority of filters the above mentioneddifficulties occur when only J a portion of the lter material has becomefouled. It is usually the filter material which is first contacted :bythe fiuid being filtered that becomes fouled while a great amount offilter material between the part initially contacted -by the f fluid andthe outlet from the filter may remain in almost perfect condition.

Provision has been made in some filters for taking out the filtermaterial which may be enclosed in a removable cartridge so that it maybe washed and replaced. Other filters are provided with a replaceablefilter material. The disadvantages of these two means of renewing thefilter are that it takes considerable time to wash out the filtermaterial and replace it and if this is done or if an entirely new refillcartrdge of filter material be placed in the filter, only la smallamount of the filter material has actually been utilized, for, aspointed out above, it is only a small lportion of the filter materialwhich actually becomes fouled while a greater proportion remains in goodcondition.

In view of the disadvantages of the various types of filters which haveheretofore been used, it is a primary object of this invention toprovide a new and improved filter in which means are provided for easilyand quickly renewing the elliciency of the filter once it becomesimpaired. It is also an object of this invention to provide means forrenewing the efiiciency of the filter without k removal of the filtermaterial. In this connection it is an object to provide means forutilizing to a maximum degree the entire body of' the filter material.

It is a further object to provide a filter which does not cause a highback pressure to the fluid being filtered, and to provide means wherebythe filter may be adjusted to decrease the resistance to flow of thefluid passing through the filter and thus decrease the resulting backpressure.

In order to accomplish the above objects it is an object of thisinvention to provide means whereby the filter material may be disturbedand shuliied from a point exterior of the filter at any time.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a filter constructionwhich is adaptable for use with various types of filter materials at thewill of the user and which includes means whereby the filter materialmay be easily and'quickly removed and replaced by new filter material.

These and other objects will be apparent from the drawings and thefollowing description thereof. Referring to the drawings- Fig. 1 is asectional elevation of embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional plan view on line 2-2 of Fig. 1, certain of theparts Ibeing only fragmentarily shown; l

Fig. 3 is a plan view of a scraper arm;

Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation of a scraper arm on line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a sectional elevation of a simplified form of the invention;and

Fig. 6 is a sectional elevation of a filter embodying another form ofthe invention.

More particularly describing the inventiomreference numeral Il generallyindicates a housing which is comprised of a cylindrical body I2terminating at its upper end in a flange I 3 to which is -bolted a domeelement I4. Thedome is provided with internal screw threads I8 toaccommodate a removable closure plate Il.

The housing is provided with inlet and outlet openings I9 and 20respectively and with av drain opening 2l. The lower end of thehousing-is dished as shown to facilitate drainage through the drainoutlet 2|.

Intermediate the flanged portion ofthe part I4 and the housing I I, ismounted an annular plate 22. This plate supports a perforate containeror basket generally indicated by numeral 24. The container includes acylindricalperforate side wall 25 and perforate lower end wall 26. Atits upper end the wall 25 is mounted in a flanged ring 2l which isinternally threaded to accommodate a perforate closure plate 23 for theupper end of the container. The container is removably mounted withinthe housing by means of bolts 2l extending through the ring 27 and plate22.

The upper and lower ends of the container are spaced respectively fromthe ends of the housing I I leaving a chamber 253 at the top on theoutlet side of the filter and a chamber 33 at the bottom a form offilter as will be described. A shaft 32 is provided which` extendslongitudinally of the container and is provided with a rounded lower end33 adapted to be received in a bearing recess 3! of a boss 35 formingpart of the member 26. The upper end of the shaft passes through anopening 2S' in the plate 23 and through an apertured boss on the plateI1. The boss is preferably provided with flat faces such as by beingmade hexagonal in shape so. that a wrench may be applied to it tounscrew vthe plate I1 from the member I4. The boss 35' accommodates apacking gland 36 through which the shaft extends.

The shaft itself is provided with an upper portion 31 which isfsquare incross section so that it may be received in the jaws of a wrench or sothat it can accommodate a crank for imparting rotation to the shaft.Immediately below this is a cylindrical portion 38 which extends throughthe packing gland and terminates in a flanged portion 39'. Below theflanged portion i9 is another cylindrical portion 49 extending throughthe plate 38. Below portion 4B is a relatively long or maior portion ofthe shaft42 which is formed square in cross section for a` purpose whichwill hereinafter become apparent.

Mounted on the shaft below portion 4D are a plurality of scraper arms44. These arms each comprise an intermediate portion 45 (see Figs. 3 and4) which terminates at one end in an apertured boss 46 having a squareopening 41 so that the arm may be mounted on the shaft. The other end ofthe scraper arm terminates in a depending blade 48: which has an arcuateouter surface 49, which, when the arm is mounted on the shaft, ispositionedclosely adjacent the interior surface of' the container; Inthe form of the invention shown the container has cylindrical walls andthen blade is accordingly disposed at approximately right angles to theportion 45 of the scraper arm, however, it is apparent that the walls ofthe container might be -frustro conical in shape', for example, in whichcase the blade would be disposed4 atv a corresponding angle to thesnrface of the'v container'.

The intermediate or major portion 45 of each scraper arm is providedwith a at under-surface 0 and a ribbed upper surface 5l. resulting in anelement havinglateral margins of less thickness than the thickness ofthe central portion as clearlyvr illustrated in Fig. 3. The innersurface ofthe blade' 48 is also provided with a surface 52 whichcorresponds in shape to the surface 5l. The scraper arm may also bedescribed as having alongitudinally extending rib on its uppersurface-and on the inner surface of the blade, thereby resulting in theaforedesc'ribed shape.

A plurality of` arms 44 are successively :arranged on the portion 42 ofthe shaft as shown in Fig. 1 in staggered relation. The upper and lowerarms may befastened to the shaft by means of pins 54 and 55respectively. It is apparent that with thisv construction rotation ofthe shaft 32 will cause the scraper arms 5% to rotate within theperforate container 24 and serve to scrape the interior surface of thecontainer. With the staggered relation of the arms, the blades coverpractically the entire inner surface of the container except the endwalls. During rotation the arms also serve to disturb and move theparticles of filter material and shuffle them, thereby disarranging themfrom their former positiondand bringing unfouled filter particles to theregion of the wall of the container. In this connection the particularcross sectional shape of the scraper arms and blades has been foundparticularly effective in causing a movement of the particles of thefilter material so that the particles of iilter material immediatelyadjacent the inner wall of the container are moved inwardly and fresh orunfouled particles move outwardly to take their place. The shaft may berotated in either direc tion. The arrangement of the arms in staggeredrelation facilitates the movement or migration of the filter materialparticles. It is desirable in filling the container to leave some spacebetween the top of the lter material and the top of the container andnot pack the lter material in tightly, thereby leaving room for thematerial to move. It is apparent that with this construction it ispossible to renew the eiciency of the lter by periodically rotating theshaft S2. It is also contemplated that for some installations it isdesirable to provide means for continuously slowly rotating the shaft.

In the form of the invention shown in Figs. 1 and 2, a cylindricalscreen el is provided eXteriorly of the container 2li and dependentlymounted from the plate 22 by means of brazing or welding 58. This screenis provided for the purpose of removing the relatively large particlesof dirt or sludge from the fluid being filtered. Inasmuch as the screenmay soon becme clogged and gummed up, means have been provided forscraping this screen simultaneously 'with the shuiiiing of the filtermaterial within the container. rIhe means used to accomplish thisinclude a scraper element Sli provided with a central boss El from whichextend four radially disposed members 62 each of which terminates in twospaced longitudinally extending scraper elements 63 and 64 respectively.The outer scraper element S3 is positioned on the outside of the screen5I while the innermost scraper element 64 is positioned intermediate thescreen and the container. Although a plurality of members 63 are shown,only one such member is necessary and two such members are preferable insome installations. In orderA to prevent the outer scraper element 63from becoming deflected and binding, these elements are held in spacedrelation by a rod or heavy wire 55 connecting their upper ends.

The scraper structure t@ is keyed to a short shaft 6'! which has asquare upper end portion E8 received in a correspondingly shaped recessin the lower end of the shaft 32. The lower end of the shaft isrotatably received in the boss 59 of a spider support le,

It is apparent that with this construction rotation of shaft 32 not onlyserves to rotate the scraper arms i4 but also rotates the scraperstructure 6B thereby serving to scrape and clean the screen 5'! and theouter surface of the container 24 dislodging particles and guinmedmaterial which can then fall to the bottom of the housing and be removedperiodically through the drain opening 24,

With certain types of uids to be filtered it is unnecessary to providemeans for scraping and cleaning the screen 51 as where the fluids do notcarry sufliciently large particles or gummy materials as Would seriouslyclog this screen. Accordingly, in Fig. there is shown a simplified formof the invention which is in many respects identical with that shown inFigs. 1 to 4 and heretofore described except that no scraping structure60 is provided for cleaning the screen 51. The shaft, here indicated by32a differs from shaft 32 in that it is provided with a solid endportion at its lower end. The plate 26a forming the lower end of thecontainer is provided with a boss 35a having a recess 34a but not havingan aperture therethrough as in the boss 35 of Fig. 1.

In Fig. 6 there is shown another form of the invention. Numeral 12generally indicates a housing which is comprised of a substantiallycylindrical body 13 having a dished lower end 14 terminating in a drainopening 15. The member 13 is provided with a threaded inlet 15. Adaptedto be mounted on the body 13 is a dome 11 having an outlet 18. Themembers 13 and 11 are provided with the respective flanges 19 and 80alnd interposed between these is an annular packing 8|. The members maybe secured together in any suitable manner as by bolts not shown. Thedome is internally threaded at 82 to accommodate an end closure member83. Integral with the enclosure 83 is a perforate container 84 which isadapted to hold any suitable filter material 3|. The container iscomprised of a cylindrical perforate Wall 86 at its upper end in athreaded sleeve 89 which is secured to the enclosure 83 by means of pinsS0 which extend through the sleeve and through lugs 9| on theunder-surface of the member 83. The sleeve 89 is provided with aplurality of screened openings 89' providing communication from theinterior of the container to the exterior thereof at a point above theplate 94 and to the outlet 8|. The body 13 is provided with an annularseat 93 to accommodate an annular plate 94 which is internally threaded.

In this form of the invention the container 8d is mounted Within thehousing by means of the cooperating screw threads on the parts 83, 89,11 and 94. Suitable packing 95 may be interposed between the members 83and 11. With this construction the container is easily removable fromthe housing and in this connection to facilitate removal the boss 8| onthe member 83 may be made hexagonal or any other suitable shape so thatit may be easily grasped by the jaws of a wrench. Externally of thecontainer there is provided a cylindrical screen 91 which is dependentlymounted by means of welding or brazing 98 on the plate 94.

The lower end of the container 84 is provided with a removable perforateend closure member |00, the container wall 86 and member |00 beingprovided with cooperating screw threads |0| for this purpose. Theclosure |00 is provided with a boss |02 having a recess |03 for thereception of the lower end of a shaft |04. This shaft is provided at itsupper end with a portion |95 which is square in cross section. Belowthis is a cylindrical portion |06 which is received in a packing gland|01 of the member 83 and below this portion is a ilange |08. Extendingfrom the flange to the lower end is a square portion |09 upon which aremounted a plurality of scraper arms 44. These scraper arms are the sameas those which terminates previously described in connection with Figs.l, 2 and 4 except that the lowermost scraper arm indicated by 44a isprovided with a blade which is longer than the blades of the otherscraper arms in order that the area of the container adjacent the bottomthereof may be scraped.

Preferably as heretofore described in connection with the other forms ofthe invention, the lter material is not packed tightly within thecontainer but some space is left between the top of the container andthe top of the lter material thereby permitting movement of the ltermaterial when the shaft and scraper arms are rotated. With theconstruction of Fig. 6 there is provided a double chamber at the top ofthe filter which serves to cushion any sudden changes in pressure. Thisdouble chamber consists of an inner compartment ||0 and an outer annularcompartment The lower end of the perforate container is spaced from thebottom of the housing in order to provide a collection chamber ||2 forthe reception ol dirt, sludge and the like as my be removed from thefluid being ltered.

In all forms of the invention the perforate container is not providedwith the perforations in the region immediately adjacent the upper sidewalls in order that the fluid being ltered will necessarily have to passthrough a considerable body of the filter material before reaching theoutlet. Thus, in Figs. 1 and 5 an imperforate ring 21 is provided at theouter end of the container while in Fig. 6 an imperforate sleeve 8g isprovided at the upper end -of the container.

Although the invention has been illustrated and described as takingparticular forms, it is contemplated that various changes andmodications might be made without departing from the invention and it isintended to cover such changes as come within the scope of the claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A filter comprising a housing having an inlet and an outlet; anannular plate mounted in said housing between said inlet and outlet; acylindrical screen dependently mounted on said plate; a perforatecontainer mounted on said plate and extending inside of said screen;lter material in said container; a shaft mounted for rotation in saidcontainer and extending to the exterior thereof and to the exterior ofsaid housing; a plurality of arms mounted on said shaft for rotationtherewith and embedded in said lter material; a scraper structurerotatably mounted in said housing and including a pair of longitudinallyextending scraper elements arranged on opposite sides of said screen;and means operatively connecting said shaft and said scraper structurewhereby rotation of said shaft rotates said arms and said scraperelements.

2. A device as defined in claim 1 in which the innermost of said scraperelements is positioned intermediate and closely adjacent said screen andcontainer.

3. In a lilter, a housing having an inlet openits upper end in an eX-ternal flange; an annular plate mounted on said ange and extendinginwardly of the wall of said housing; a dome closure element for saidhousing mounted on said plate and having an inner wall thereof; aperforate container detachably mounted on said plate and extending therebelow into said housing inwardly of said screen; and lter material insaid container; said 'dome including a removable section of sufficientsize to permit removal of said container through the dome closureelement.

4. In a filter, a perforate cylindrical container iilter material insaid container; a shaft mounted for rotation in said container andextending to the exterior thereof; and a plurality of arms embedded inSaid nlter material mounted on said shaft and extending radiallytherefrom in staggered relation and adapted to rotate with said Shaft,said arms each having a at under surface and a centrally ribbed uppersurface and each terminating in a scraper blade disposed adjacent theinner surface of the container, said scraper blades each having a smootharcuate outer surface and a centrally ribbed inner surface.

5. A scraper arm comprising a member having an elongate intermediateportion terminating at one end in ascraper blade and terminating at theother end in an apertured boss, said intermediate portion of the armhaving a fiat under surface and a centrally ribbed upper surface, saidblade having a smooth arcuate outer surface and a centrally ribbed innersurface.

6. A filter comprising a housing having an inlet and an outlet; aperforate container mounted in said housing in spaced relation theretopositioned between said inlet and outlet; a cylindrical sereen mountedin said housing between the inner wall of the housing and the outer wallof the perforate container; filter material in said container; a shaftmounted for rotation in said container and extending to the exteriorthereof and to the exterior of said housing; a plurality of arms mountedon said Shaft for rotation therewith and embedded in said filtermaterial; a scraper structure rotatably mounted in said housing adaptedto engage opposite sides of said screen; and means operativelyconnecting ACn said shaft and said Scraper structure whereby rotation ofsaid shaft rotates said arms and said scraper elements.

7. In a filter, a housing having an inlet opening and terminating at itsupper end in an external flange; a domed head closure mounted on saidhousing, said closure having an outlet opening, said closure having acentral detachable section; a cylindrical perforate container suspendedfrom the removable section of said closure and extending into saidhousing; an annular plate mounted in the region of the juncture of saidhousing and said closure and cooperating with said container to form anannular chamber above the plate in the closure exteriorly of thecontainer and to separate the interior of the housing below said plateexteriorly of said container from the region above said plate; filtermaterial in said container; said container having fluid escape passagesin its upper portion providing communication to said annular chamberabove said plate; and a cylindrical screen dependently mounted on saidplate and surrounding the portion of said container below said plate inspaced relation to the container,

8. In a filter, a housing having an inlet opening and terminating at itsupper end in an external flange; an annular plate mounted on said flangeand extending inwardh7 of the wall of said housing; a dome closureelement for said housing mounted on said plate and having an outletopening; means securing the dome closure element, plate and housingtogether; a perorate container detachably mounted on said plate andextending therebelow into said housing; and filter material in saidcontainer; said dome including a removable section of sufficient size topermit removal of said container through the dome closure element,

EDWIN C. WEISGERBER.

